


To Have and to Hold

by Ambrose_Hart



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28820676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose_Hart/pseuds/Ambrose_Hart
Summary: Kara just wants to hug Lena, but the last thing she wants to do is hurt her.Or the soulmate AU where after puberty if you make skin-to-skin contact with anyone that is not your soulmate it burns like touching a hot stove.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 17
Kudos: 749





	To Have and to Hold

**Author's Note:**

> Supergirl definitely doesn't belong to me.

Kara just wants to hug Lena, but the last thing she wants to do is hurt her. If only Lena would wear full-coverage clothes like normal people, instead of baring every inch of skin that decency allowed.

The first time that Kara saw Lena it was as a newly minted reporter for CatCo on her first assignment. The blonde fidgeted in her seat trying desperately to not break her pen (again). She had already ruined 2 pairs of nice cloth gloves this month, and it was only the 12th! She really should ask Winn if he can make her a pen out of some special, super strong material that no one has heard of. Would it be too ridiculous for her to ask for one made of diamond? Kara shook her head to stop her musings about sparkly things. _Concentrate, Kara, you need to make Ms. Grant proud._ With her new resolve she looked down at the notes she had prepared for today:

Lena Luthor, 24 yrs —> youngest CEO of a multi-billion dollar company  
Taking over for Lex Luthor :(  
First press conference  
MIT grad  
Motivations unknown

Kara looked up at the decrease in murmurs around her. Someone was coming out onto the stage, but it wasn’t Lena Luthor. Kara knew what the raven haired woman looked like, which frankly felt like a victory. During her research before the press conference, the only pictures she managed to find were from Lex’s trial. Luthor Corp didn’t even put out a promotional photo for today’s event.

“...so, without further ado, I give you Lena Luthor.” As she politely clapped with those around her, Kara chided herself again for getting lost in her own thoughts. She had missed the introduction. Hopefully nothing important was mentioned. The calm center she was trying to find so she could concentrate was completely shaken off its precarious perch at seeing Lena Luthor glide across the stage. Where were her clothes?! The young CEO was wearing a short off the shoulder dress leaving half of her legs, most of her arms, and everything above her breasts bare. No one left that much skin exposed, at least not in public, it was too dangerous. Kara, being indestructible, didn’t have to worry about it, but in an effort to blend in she followed the full-coverage trend. Today she was wearing her standard slacks and a long-sleeved button-up shirt. She decided to forgo her regular cardigan since the weather was supposed to be pleasant today.

Lena Luthor was either a masochist or this was some major power move to show that she was untouchable. Kara stared up at the woman with a combination of awe and confusion written across her face. The CEO calmly smiled at the crowd and started her speech.

That day had gone off without a hitch, but today, unfortunately, had not, which is why Kara found herself in her current predicament. She was watching her best friend fall apart in front of her. Tears threatened to spill from Lena’s eyes, but the woman’s all-consuming force of will froze them in place.

Once Kara learned how to properly hug without hurting her fragile human counterparts, she found physical comfort to be her go-to. But it was impossible to ever touch Lena, the woman never even wore a shirt with sleeves! Kara eyed Lena’s lap wondering if it would be too forward for her to rest her hand on the other woman’s thigh. Her hand slid across the couch getting close, but it stilled before reaching its destination.

Kara hung her head feeling defeated. She could punch bad guys into next week, but she couldn’t properly comfort her best friend. This wasn’t the first time she cursed the soulmate rules of this world. Krypton was such a physically tactile place; handshakes between acquaintances, hugs and pecks on the cheek between friends and family. Earth was so different. Everyone seemed to have an invisible protective bubble around them. Kara often chided herself for standing too close when the person she was speaking to took an unconscious step back to maintain their distance.

Kara learned the rules quickly after arriving on Earth after barreling into Alex as she ran into the kitchen for dinner. Alex had been knocked over onto the floor, which she grumbled about quite hardily. But her screams of pain came when Kara attempted to help her up. Alex’s shirt had ridden up in the back exposing her skin. Skin that Kara didn’t think for one second would be an issue if she touched. She was being helpful, and making amends for her clumsy error. All good things, right? Wrong, very much so wrong.

Eliza calmed the girls down after their collective freak out, and explained things over dinner. “Kara, you can’t go touching people, you are too old,” Eliza started.

“What do you mean?” Kara responded with a voice laced with confusion and hurt.

“Here on Earth, after a person reaches puberty they lose the ability to touch anyone other than their soulmate without pain. It burns like touching a hot stove.”

“What?!” This was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

Alex shrugged, “It is what it is.”

“Don’t be so defeated, Alex,” the older woman scolded. Eliza clearly had a measure of exhaustion associated with her daughter’s teenage apathy.

The wheels were turning in Kara’s head with this new information. “So, I can’t touch anyone anymore? No more hugs? Nothing?”

Eliza continued, “Now, Kara, you have to look on the bright side here. The system does have its faults, but it will allow you to find your soulmate. The person who will love and complete you for the rest of your lives.”

“But I’m from another planet, what if I don’t have a soulmate!?” Kara quickly stood from the kitchen table causing the chair to fly across the room and clatter to the floor. She clutched at her hair, her breath becoming in short, quick bursts.

Eliza slowly stood and reached for the young woman unraveling before her, “Come here.”

Kara sputtered, “But you can’t, I can’t-“ She looked frantically to Alex, who just motioned her head over toward her mother.

“We can work around it.” Her voice left no room for questioning.

Instructing Kara to put her head on her shoulder, Eliza wrapped her arms around the teenager’s back. Initially quite stiff during the exchange, eventually Kara melted into the embrace.

Switching her gaze from Lena’s thigh to her downturned face, Kara attempted to look into the woman’s eyes. “You know I will always be here for you. If you want to talk, or eat donuts, or wipe the floor with me in a game of chess. Whatever.”

With each ridiculous example Lena’s defeated face slowly lifted, and her eyes turned to meet Kara’s. With a slight upturn of the corner of her mouth she replied, “I’ve never had a friend like you before.”

Kara returned the sentiment with a watery smile. After holding each other’s gaze for too long considering what is standardly polite, Kara cleared her throat and patted the couch next to Lena’s leg to emphasize her words, “Please call me if you need anything. Really.”

Having called attention to their positioning, Lena was slightly taken aback by how close Kara had dared to come to touching her. She stood quickly, striding halfway to her office door. She then motioned awkwardly, unsure of what to do with her hands. “Thank you, Kara. I appreciate you sitting with me, and trying to cheer me up. It means so much to me.”

Kara tried desperately to hide her desire to respond with an “Awwwe”, but failed such that it ended up coming out as whiney moan. Lena’s eyebrow raised in confusion, causing Kara to once again clear her throat to cut the tension. She fumbled around on the floor for her bag before springing upright and making a beeline for the office door. “Have a good evening, Lena,” she called as she quickly stepped out into the hallway.

“Idiot,” the blonde whispered to herself as she hit the elevator button.

~*~*~*~*~

[She blinded me with science] Kara smiled as she picked up her cell phone, having recognized Lena’s ringtone. “Hi Lena!”

“Good evening, Kara.” Lena paused feeling a little uneasy about the request she was about to make.

Kara saw the pause as an opening, “What’s up? Can I help you with something?”

“Yes. Well, not quite. It is a request, though.”

“Sure! What is it?” Kara couldn’t possibly understand what help she could give the genius, but she was ready to jump at the opportunity.

Lena exhaled in an attempt to relieve her jitters, but that didn’t stop the word vomit that followed, “Would you like to join me for dinner? Here, at my office. I know it might be late, and a work night-“

Kara (thankfully) cut off her rambling with an enthusiastic, “I’d love to!”

“Oh, wonderful! I can put in an order for all of our favorites from the Chinese place so that by the time you get here it will be ready.”

“Pot stickers?! I love you, Lena!”

They both paused, both unsure of how to take the phrase that just popped out of Kara’s mouth. Before the blonde could say something to salvage her snafu she heard the phone clatter to the floor and Lena screaming in the distance, “Stay back!”

“Lena! Lena!” Kara yelled hoping to get her back.

Without knowing what she was doing, she was out the window flying through National City. As she sped closer and closer to L-Corp she heard Lena fighting against someone, then suddenly the struggle was over, but she was screaming. Putting on an extra boost of speed, Supergirl scooped the falling woman from the sky before she made it halfway to the ground. Supergirl silently thanked Rao for allowing her to make it in time as she rose back up to the balcony for Lena’s office.

Supergirl dispatched the bad guys with her freeze breath, following a witty comment (if she does say so herself). She then softly landed on the balcony, and made to place Lena back on her feet. The clearly shaken woman wobbled slightly as she stood regaining her footing. Purely on instinct Supergirl reached out and grabbed Lena’s bare shoulders to steady her. The woman recoiled, but was unable to remove herself from the strong grasp. Then her eyes popped open wider than the hero had ever seen. Realization dawned on Supergirl and she pulled her hands back as quickly as possible. She also put a few feet of space between them for good measure.

The blonde was wrecked, “I’m sorry, Lena! In my hurry to get here I guess I forgot my gloves, are you ok? Did I hurt you?” She instinctually reached for her, again trying to provide comfort she knew she couldn’t.

Lena held up a hand to silence the woman. Supergirl snapped her mouth shut and froze in place. Lena’s green eyes searched Supergirl’s blue ones for something. Something the hero couldn’t comprehend. Having seen whatever it was she was looking for, she started slowly closing the distance between them with her right hand outstretched in front of her.

“Lena, what are you-“ the blonde was silenced again without a word.

Lena grabbed Supergirl’s left forearm and lifted so that her hand was facing up to the sky. A trembling left hand drifted over and hovered over the steady upturned one. Supergirl tensed in anticipation of pulling away, but Lena’s grip tightened. “Stay.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Her eyes were swimming with worry.

“Do you trust me?” Lena looked square into those blue eyes waiting for an answer. Supergirl thickly swallowed and gave a short nod before dropping her gaze to her own hand.

The trembling hand moved down a single middle finger to press against the other’s palm. Unexpectedly, Lena didn’t immediately pull back at the inevitable burn. Instead, she sighed and pushed the rest of her hand into Supergirl’s so they were fully palm to palm. The blonde was breathing shallowly, unable to believe what was happening in front of her.

Lena slid her right hand up and across her wrist to sandwich Supergirl’s hand between hers. They both stared at their joined hands lost in thought.

Supergirl whispered in disbelief, “Lena, what is this?”

“You’re my - my - mine,” was the stuttered response.

Supergirl searched Lena’s face for the truth of the matter. “Really? I thought since I came from another planet - I expected to be alone.”

She felt her hand suddenly drop and her heart went with it, before soaring higher than she’d ever gone out there in the clouds. Lena had thrown her arms around Supergirl’s neck and was pulling her into the first real full body hug she’d had since her mother tried to pour all of her love into their last embrace. Their last embrace before starting her journey to Earth.

Supergirl dipped her head, nuzzling down next Lena’s neck and into her hair, while wrapping her arms around the other woman’s waist. She breathed in deeply enjoying the faint scents of Lena’s perfume and beauty products that lingered after a full day at work. Lena nestled her face in the crook of the blonde’s neck sighing contentedly. They stayed like that for an untold amount of time before Lena softly spoke, “I was hoping it was you, Kara.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction I've managed to post. So, thank you for reading my story!


End file.
